2007: The Year in PopWatch

The phrase “guilty pleasure” has long outlived its usefulness. If you really like a song or a movie or a TV show, no matter how cheesy the conventional wisdom says it is, you should feel free to say so without guilt, and to defend your appreciation vigorously. That’s one reason why I (and, judging by the number of comments, you as well) enjoy reading Mandi Bierly’s PopWatch Confessional columns. They get at how important entertainment really is in our lives, and they open the emotional floodgates for readers by reminding you of things you’d forgotten you loved.

That these continue to be issues of contention saddens me, and it’spartly our fault as critics and journalists for not doing a better jobof explaining what the stakes are. That’s why I am so grateful to havebeen part of PopWatch in 2007, to have a forum to raise such issues andstart a conversation. So while I want to thank all the writers,editors, photo mavens, tech wizards, interns, and celebrity guest bloggerswho helped put together PopWatch in 2007, I especially want to thankyou, the readers, for your lively, intelligent, and civil commentary.We posted nearly 2,500 blog items this year, and you responded withmore than 110,000 replies. That kind of response is incrediblygratifying to us, whether or not you agreed with what we wrote, becausewe relish our ongoing conversation with you. Hope you’ll continue tocomment as fervently in 2008. Look forward to hearing from you.